


Falling Apart

by Assido_Mina



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hallucinations, Injury, Losing Time, Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 07:08:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23967415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Assido_Mina/pseuds/Assido_Mina
Summary: Akira is one day from being released from prison, and the other inmates don't much like that. Time is funny when-Akira has been out of prison for a week, his head still hurts from the beating that he got on his last night, but at least he's with his friends again. Time is funny when-Akira can feel the wind whipping through his hair, toes peeking over the edge of the building that he's woken up on. Time is funny when-Akira can feel the blood on his hands, see his friends' lives drifting from their eyes. Time is funny when-Akira can feel the wind blowing on his face, taking his first steps outside of the prison gate, his friends waiting with open arms to greet him.Time is funny when the word has no meaning.
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Sakura Futaba
Kudos: 21





	Falling Apart

**Author's Note:**

> My other fic for the Dark Bang! Super late with this, but I got massively sick for a couple weeks and got delayed with everything, I'm sorry :( I hope you enjoy though! I'm looking forward to completing this one :3

One more day, that's all that was left to endure. Once the witness in Akira's case had been found and professed his innocence, it had been a speedy process through appeals, his case so public that even though the officials would have preferred to keep him locked away they couldn't do so without committing career suicide.

The only reason he wasn't out on the streets a free man right now was purely because of how _unusual_ his case was, the legal system boasted a highly unethical 99% conviction rate after all, the idea of a sentencing being overturned was considered unthinkable. Just think of how it would reflect on the officials. Thus he still had a night left in prison while they sorted out the paperwork for his release, counting down the minutes until the guards would come to collect him, not daring to fall asleep for fear of what could happen, terrible as his luck had been lately.

The number one rule in prison, soap notwithstanding, was that if you were getting out you didn't tell _anyone._ Inmates were just like anyone else, they weren't inherently monsters, most had just been caught making a dumb mistake. But like everyone on the outside, they could be prone to resentment, and knowing that someone was getting out when they could very well be stuck here for life could lead to… unpleasantness.

It wasn’t an unexpected outcome, that was the reason why Iwai had gotten him protection in prison in the first place, there were always going to be dangers on the inside for someone who was as young as he was, and his life had already been saved more than once by Hide and Natsu. But they weren’t here right now, alone in his cell since he’d been dropped back after the court proceedings, in the middle of what was supposed to be showertime, meaning that there were people walking past his cell and gazing in with barely concealed envy in their eyes, and his protection was nowhere to be found.

Akira did what he normally did in situations where he felt threatened: He puffed his chest up, held his head high and continued about his day, sorting through the few belongings that he still had with him after everything, just _daring_ someone to come in and cause a problem. Not appearing weak was half the battle, and for the other half that could come, he at least had a pretty mean punch.

“Hey,” Came a voice from the open door of his cell, his head swivelling around to stare at the intruder, feet squaring by instinct. They didn’t look particularly vicious, the look on their face open and searching, but Akira had been deceived enough times not to trust someone he’d never met like that, and the fact that his new guest was at least two times his weight did nothing to set him at ease. “Heard you were getting out?”

Akira said nothing, taking a step back towards his pillow where Natsu had hidden a sharpened chopstick. It could damage the court proceedings, but dying would damage them a tad bit more.

“I’m not here to do anything,” The guest said, holding his hands up and smiling, “Just wanted to tell you congrats, not everyone gets out, especially for something like you did, you know? I’m Kenji, by the way.”

“Yeah…” He took another step back, fingers brushing the edge of his pillow, “Just lucky, I guess.”

“Lots of people that aren’t,” Kenji said, eyes darkening, “Lots of people that aren’t getting out ever, you know?”

 _Ah,_ there _it is._

“I think you should get out of here, before you do something stupid.”

“I’m not doing anything stupid,” Kenji said, stepping into the cell fully and blocking the exit with his body, “Just here to give you a message from Kaneshiro. He asked me to make sure that it’s one you don’t _ever_ forget.”

He was fast, faster than Akira was expecting, crossing the cell in the blink of an eye and thumping his fist into his stomach, Akira doubling over and retching as he saw a knee coming up to connect with his temple. Dropping onto the side of the bed and barely keeping himself held up, he looked up into Kenji’s eyes as he shook out his fist. “With how much he crowed on about you I was expecting something more impressive,” He scoffed, “But we can still have some fun.”

Slipping his hand under the pillow and grabbing hold of the chopstick, he waited until Kenji grabbed him around the neck before he thrust it forward, feeling not unlike he was fighting a shadow as it slammed through his opponent’s skin and jolted his arm up to the elbow. Wrenching it out and slamming it home again, he had a moment to feel proud of the howl of pain that ripped out of Kenji’s throat before a fist connected with his cheek, so hard that he fell back and bounced his head off the wall of his cell.

“Fuckin’ stab me?” Kenji howled, grabbing his head and slamming it into the wall another three times, “You think you can fuckin’ stab me?”

Akira couldn’t even speak, vision swimming and darkening, head so clouded that he barely even recognized Hide’s voice when the pain stopped, the sounds of struggle on the other side of the cell slowly coming back to him.

“Natsu, get rid of that! And you, don’t fuckin’ move or I’ll kick your teeth down out your ass!” A hand lightly slapped his cheek, fingers grasping at his neck as they lifted his head. “Hey Akira, come on listen to me, can you hear me?”

Akira made the best move he could in an attempt to nod, only succeeding in jostling his brain enough to vomit as soon as he head turned sideways.

“Shit, come on we gotta get you some help.” Moving felt like making him scream, blood dripping down from the side of his head and mixing with the taste of vomit in his mouth, vision darkening again as he slipped further into unconsciousness. “Akira come on, don’t slip away now!”

He wanted to see his friends again, he didn’t want to die like this.

“Akira!”

He’d do anything to see them again.

“Wake up!”

Stepping out into the brightness of the outside world was… strange. He’d done it just yesterday on the way to the court and back, but that had still been as an inmate, with all the disdainful looks that it implied. But now… now he was stepping out a free man, and after a few months in prison he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. No wonder Kenji turned out the way that he did.

“Akira!” But that voice brought a smile to his face, no matter how scared he was about everything else, opening his arms just in time for Futaba to leap into his arms and wrap hers around his neck, burying her face in his neck.

“Jeez, hasn’t even been a minute and you two are already going at it.” Ryuji and Ann stepped into view, tongues poked out in mock disgust even as their eyes told the truth of how they really felt. “It’s good to see you again bro.”

Walking over and still supporting Futaba’s weight, stubbornly refusing to let go of his neck, he let the two of them wrap him in a hug, feeling more pairs of arms joining in after a few moments of hesitation. “I missed you guys, so much.”

“Don’t start crying,” Makoto warned, her voice thick with emotion, “If you start crying the rest of us are going to start crying.”

A sniff from his side confirmed that Yusuke at least had no such problems with showing emotion like that.

“Come on,” Akira said, smiling shakily, “Let’s go home.”

The door clicked closed as he took it all in, bell ringing above his head and sending everything rushing back to him in an instant. It still looked the same, the clock ticking four like it always did when he came back from school, tv playing the evening news, as though it didn’t have anything else to play, the golden light shining off of the painting in the corner and sparkling off the frame. 

“Nothing’s changed,” Akira gasped, feeling his legs going weak for a moment before he regained his composure, “I didn’t know if I’d see it again.”

_“And now, in latest news, the case of disgraced candidate for prime minister Masayoshi Shido has reached a new development, revealing that he had in fact framed the star witness for assault over a year ago. The witness in question, whose name has been ordered suppressed out of reason of privacy, was released today.”_

Akira froze, staring at the tv as the five o’clock news droned on, before Sojiro stepped in and turned off the tv. “Sorry about that kid, didn’t uh… didn’t think they’d be playing that.”

“It’s alright,” He said, sitting himself down at the booth, keeping his eye on the door as he watched it click closed. Haru and Yusuke hovered close, not quite sure if he had suddenly shifted into glass in his time away. Makoto was making sure that Sojiro was equipped to deal with any questions now that he was Akira’s legal guardian, and Ann and Ryuji squeezed themselves together on the other side of his booth. Futaba however didn’t have any sort of issues about his fragility, all but slamming herself into his side and wrapping her arms around him, refusing to let go any time soon.

“This is super awkward,” Futaba mumbled against his side, earning a snort from Ryuji as he leaned in and checked that Sojiro wasn’t listening.

“You two just want to bone don’t you?” He yelped as Ann slapped the back of his head, looking _very_ unimpressed with his lack of tact, “What? You can see it!”

“No,” Akira answered.

“Yes,” Futaba answered.

 _“See?”_ Ryuji sat back, crossing his arms in satisfaction, “Well you can have him all to yourself in a while, we want to get our fill of Akira before you get yours.”

“Thanks for assuming I can fill,” Akira chuckled, leaning his bruised cheek on the wood of the table, breathing deeply and savoring the scent of years worth of coffee. He looked up when the door clicked shut again, already getting irritated. “Hey Boss? Can we get that door fixed soon?”

“Huh?” Sojiro replied, half listening, “Oh yeah, sure thing.”

Akira was tired, he could feel it in his bones, eyes slipping closed of their own accord, opening them again and staring over at the other side of the bed, Futaba curled up against his side. She was warm, so warm that it felt like that bright hair of hers was made of fire, but it was a burn that he’d missed in his time away. Laying back and resting his head on the pillow, he let his eyes fall shut again and lost himself to sleep once more.

Being woken up was still a trying process, so on edge from his time in prison that he found himself jolting awake when Futaba burrowed herself deeper into his side, eyes shooting open and his hand slipping under his pillow before he realized where he was.

“Shit…” He sighed, brushing the hair out of his eyes as he let his head fall back into the pillow, the movement jostling Futaba and cracking her eyes open.

“Wuh…” She sniffed, yawning widely before she pushed herself up on her elbow, staring down at him with half-lidded eyes. Her brain wasn’t quite in the right spot to offer any words of comfort, not with the sun still hidden under the horizon, but she could at least exchange his hand for hers, running through his hair and working out the knots that had formed in his sleep. 

Akira huffed, resting his hand on her waist, shutting his eyes and breathing out steadily, focusing on the feeling of being _here_ rather than back _there,_ the ache in his head still thumping like it had from Ake- _that_ night, memories of countless bone-shaking impacts seemingly etched into his very bones now. Though having his head bounced off a prison wall like he was a ball being thrown by Steve McQueen probably didn’t help too much with how he was feeling right now.

“I’m alright,” He said, brushing the worry from the crease in her mouth with his thumb, “Just… some not so good memories, you know? It’s been a crappy couple of months.”

“Tell me about it,” She grumbled, “I had to go and sleep in my old room until you came back, he thought it was kind of creepy that I just stayed up here by myself.”

“Oh no,” He deadpanned, “That’s so much worse than anything I had to go through.”

Futaba rolled her eyes, sunlight sparkling in their depths as she laughed, “I’m so sorry, to be honest I was worried that you might meet someone more interesting than me in there.”

“Now that you say that, I _did_ think the guy in the cell across from me was pretty hot,” Akira chuckled, poking at her nose, “The double murder _really_ did it for me.”

 _"Knew_ you had a type," She scoffed, "Guess I know what to do to spice things up."

 _"Please_ don't try to murder me, it's not worth the effort." 

"No promises." Futaba rolled over, feet touching the ground and her arms stretching over her head in a yawn. When she looked back at him her eyes were so much more alight than he was used to, as well as the fact that she was even _awake_ this time in the morning.

"Alright," He drawled, "Who are you and what have you done with Futaba?"

"Ha ha, someone had to help dad out while you were away, it's almost time for my shift."

"Your shift?" He pushed himself up onto his elbows, raising an eyebrow. "This early?"

She snorted, "Early? It's twelve in the afternoon."

"What?" Flipping onto his other side, Akira hissed and raised his arm to cover his eyes, sunlight threatening to blind him as it shone through the window. "Weird, I thought it was earlier."

"Not surprising, you were sleeping like a corpse. Guess it's about time you got some actual sleep."

The side of his head pounded, eyes squeezing shut before he shook and cleared the feeling, throwing his legs over the side and joining her on her feet. "Hope you've still got my apron, I've had enough prison coffee to last me a lifetime, I want something _good_ to drink."

"You know, you don't have to sit here and watch me, you _do_ have the day off after all."

"I know," Akira said, leaning on his hand with a wistful expression on his face, "I was thinking about this for the last two months, indulge me."

The customer in a nearby booth snorted, standing up and placing a thousand yen note under their empty cup. "Ah, young love, it's a wonderful thing."

"Butt out old man," Futaba laughed, waving as they walked out the door with a ring of the bell, "Anyway, I was gonna say you should go hang out with Ryuji or someone today, I swear he took this thing even harder than I did."

"You're sick of me already aren't you?"

"Aw, was I _that_ obvious?" Futaba leaned forward, pressing the pout of her lips against the tip of his nose. "Seriously though, I wasn't the only one who was missing you, and I wasn't the only one who _you_ were missing either. Ryuji was _this close_ to rubbing his face in your old shirts, it was concerning."

Akira sighed, staring out the window at the street, sun shining through in thin beams. "It was rough on all of you, what I did, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was," She said, dropping her dishcloth on the counter and leaning forward, "But that's not your fault, it's the assholes that put you there in the first place. Now Shido's in jail, Akechi's de… Akechi is gone. And now we can all move on with our lives. The way you should have been able to to begin with."

He grinned. "You know, if I hadn't been framed to begin with, I never would have ended up meeting you."

"Don't try and make me glad that the cops were incompetent, it didn't work during Zootopia and it's not working now."

“Worth a try,” He snorted, pushing himself to stand and pressing his lips against her cheek, “You think everyone’ll be free?”

“Makoto and Haru are both busy, they really went to bat when you went inside, someone had to handle the lawyer fees. Yusuke’s doing… whatever it is that Yusuke does, and Morgana…” She trailed off sadly, “We haven’t really seen him around much since Shido. I’m sure he’ll turn up eventually though.”

“And you?”

“I’m working, someone had to help Dad out while you were away. It’ll just be you and your first two friends, how fun.” She shooed him towards the door, sliding his wallet towards him from where it had been kept under the counter. “Go, I’ll call and let them know you’re meeting them, you can probably still catch the ten thirty train if you hurry.”

He nodded absentmindedly, pausing at the door with his hand on the handle before he turned his head back. “What was that?”

“I said you can catch the one thirty train if you hurry, what’s up?” She raised an eyebrow, staring at him with concern in her eyes.

Akira hummed to himself, shaking his head lightly and chuckling, “Sorry, thought you said something different.”

The door opened and closed without a sound, his thoughts still loud in his mind as he walked down the street.

_What’s going on with me?_


End file.
